Design Studio

Bauhausbücher refers to the fourteen books which have been published by the Bauhaus. These fourteen books were developed by Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy (principals of Bauhaus) to publicize the achievements of the Bauhaus during the early 20th century. The Bauhaus was a progressive-modernist group that emphasized communal and public values based on Marxism. The Bauhaus sought to disregard the culture of ornamentation and embellishment associated with the upper classes.

Original Series
The Bauhaus was forced by the Nazi regime to cease publications in 1933 after its 14th volume. Given that the Bauhaus has had a major impact on the fields of art, architecture and design, ceasing publications is one of the most regrettable affairs in history. However, despite this regrettable event, the spirit and essence of the Bauhaus has continued to live on in artists, designers, architects, etc. This is in fact the initial reason that I choose the Bauhausbücher as the subject matter for this project. The above described series of books are the portfolio magazine covers of the Bauhaus, representing not only the various works but the essence of the Bauhaus.

Analysis - Elements
Analysis - Grid System
The purpose of this project was to identify a sequential connection, focusing on modernist values and experimentalism, between the Bauhaus and contemporary art as it exists today. In my preparatory steps, I researched the potential members of the Bauhaus and then grouped these members using the magazine, Bauhausbücher. Then I analyzed graphic elements of the magazine covers - grid system, font, arrangements and several visual elements – that the Bauhaus people used in the Bauhausbücher, as well as visual results from other works by the potential Bauhaus members which have similar graphic elements. In this project, I experimented with how these limited elements and their idea and philosophy could be expanded into the mainstream as a specific sequence of modernism.